The present invention relates to a rack for supporting containers, and more particularly casks suitable for containing liquids.
Various types of cask are known for containing and storing liquids. In general, they present a first wall portion of generally cylindrical shape closed at each of its two ends by two identical, end-forming circular second wall portions, with the longitudinal axis of such a cask generally intersecting said second wall portions substantially perpendicularly. Filling or emptying orifices are pierced in one or both of the second endwall-forming portions and/or in the first wall portion, generally in the middle thereof.
It is known that circularly symmetrical containers can be stacked together in a vertical plane so that the longitudinal axis of each container is substantially perpendicular to said vertical plane with the second wall portions of the containers coinciding so as to form two vertical mean planes that are parallel to each other.
Thus, containers are lined up side by side to form a first row on which a second row is then built up in such a manner that each second row container bears on two containers in the first row. In identical manner, higher rows are formed, up to a limit where only one container can be arranged to bear on two lower containers.
As a result a generally pyramid-shaped structure is obtained. Nevertheless, given the size of the stacked containers, the number of rows that can be superposed is limited in order to ensure that the assembly is stable.
However, storing circularly symmetrical containers in that way suffers from a major drawback associated with filling or emptying said containers once stacked. To empty a container as completely as possible, a container which is positioned so that its longitudinal axis is horizontal needs to be turned so as to ensure that its orifice which is pierced off-center through the periphery of one of its two end-forming second wall portions is located level with the bottom of the inside volume of the container. Unfortunately, when the containers are resting on one another, it is not possible to turn them easily so as to bring their orifices into the bottom position; and if the containers are full while they are being stacked, it is difficult to ensure that they take up this position accurately during stacking.
Furthermore, it is not possible to remove a container from a lower row without removing containers from the upper rows.
The invention seeks to provide a rack for supporting containers that enables the above-specified drawbacks to be remedied while retaining the advantages provided by stacking, in terms of the amount of space that is occupied.
This object is achieved with the rack of the invention which comprises:
a plurality of modular structures each suitable for receiving a single container, each modular structure presenting a back vertical mean plane and a substantially parallel front vertical mean plane, and each comprising top fixing points, bottom fixing points, and support means close to said bottom fixing points, said support means lying substantially in a horizontal plane so as to support a container whose longitudinal axis is substantially perpendicular to said back and front vertical mean planes;
and wherein said modular structures are interconnected via their fixing points on a horizontal axis and on a vertical axis so that the front vertical mean planes and the back vertical mean planes of said modular structures coincide and so that every upper modular structure straddles two lower modular structures, thereby enabling said containers to be placed in a staggered configuration in a vertical plane, thereby permitting free access to the top portion of each one of said containers.
Thus, a characteristic of the invention lies in the way in which containers are stored by being stacked in a vertical plane with their longitudinal axes being substantially perpendicular to said vertical plane, but in a modular structure in which they are supported independently by support means. As a result, the containers can be inserted or withdrawn from the set of containers, independently of one another.
Furthermore, the modular structures are superposed in such a manner that the containers are disposed in a staggered configuration, thereby optimizing occupancy of the available space.
In addition, according to an advantageous characteristic, each modular structure comprises:
a back structure element and a front structure element facing each other, each structure element being constituted by two facing arcs, the mean line of an arc being substantially vertical so that each arc presents a top end and a bottom end, said arcs being interconnected by a link arc so that the concave sides of said two arcs and of the link arc all face towards the inside of said structure, and so that each of said structure elements is substantially in the form of a portion of a circle whose diameter is greater than the maximum diameter of the cask;
link rods suitable for interconnecting said back and front structure elements;
and said top and bottom ends of said two arcs of said back and front structure elements respectively contained in said back and front vertical mean planes, respectively constitute said top fixing points and said bottom fixing points of said modular structure.
Thus, the modular structure forms a cradle into which a container can be inserted between said structure elements and placed on said support means so that the longitudinal axis of the container is substantially perpendicular to the back mean plane and to the front mean plane.
In addition, it will be understood that in accordance with this advantageous characteristic of the invention, the bottom ends of the structure elements of an upper modular structure constitute four bottom fixing points of said modular structure suitable for being connected to four fixing points constituted by the top ends of the arcs of two contiguous lower modular structures. Thus, the two lower modular structures are interconnected by the upper structure which straddles them. This configuration can be reproduced as often as desired in order to build up a rack of the invention.
The modular structures are relatively simple to construct given their component elements, and they can be assembled in accordance with the number of containers to be stored.
According to another advantageous characteristic, said support means are constituted by rolling members, each rolling member being free to rotate about the first end of a shaft;
and each bottom end of said back and front structure elements has a rolling member connected to said bottom end by the second end of the shaft of said support means.
Thus, another characteristic of the invention lies in the way in which the containers are supported so as to enable the containers to be turned around their own longitudinal axes within the modular structure while applying a minimum amount of force, even when a container is full. This disposition makes it possible to adjust the positions of emptying or filling orifices without needing to separate the container from its support. Each modular structure has four rolling members, each being connected to the bottom end of an arc so that the four members together substantially define a horizontal rectangular parallelogram. It will be understood that the lengths of the sides of the parallelogram must be shorter than the lengths of the sides of the outline of a projection of the container onto a tangential plane in order to ensure that the container is supported by the rolling members.
Each rolling member is mounted to rotate freely on the end of a shaft which is fixed to the bottom end of an arc so as to be substantially perpendicular to the vertical mean planes. As a result, each rolling member is free to rotate in a plane that is substantially parallel to the vertical mean planes, which means that very little friction arises while a container is being rotated.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, each structure element forms a single piece, said two facing arcs and said link arc being constituted by a single hoop portion presenting two free ends separated by a gap. Thus, each structure element is made by curving a rod into a truncated hoop shape and is constituted by a single piece. This disposition makes it possible to make structure elements at advantageous cost.
In another preferred embodiment of the invention, the back structure element and the facing front structure element are mechanically interconnected by link rods that are substantially perpendicular to said back and front vertical mean planes so as to constitute the rigid modular structure.
In a particularly advantageous embodiment of the invention, said second ends of the shafts of said rolling members also form fixing means suitable for connecting the top fixing points of a modular structure to the bottom fixing points of a modular structure above it. Thus, the shafts of the rolling members serve to perform two functions: one is to hold a rolling member in a position that is fixed relative to a structure element; the other is to interconnect two superposed modular structures. As a result, the weakening of the modular structure that would be caused by piercing a curved rod specifically to receive the shaft of the rolling member does not occur, and the rack is simpler to assemble.
Advantageously, said free ends of said hoops constitute the top fixing points of the modular structure, enabling said modular structure to present a space in its top portion suitable for being penetrated, at least between said free ends. Since each of the two free ends of a lower hoop is connected to the bottom end of an upper hoop, an empty space is situated vertically above said space portion between the two upper hoops. As a result, and as explained in greater detail in the description below, appropriate tooling can be inserted above a container to take hold of it at each end, to lift it, and to withdraw it from the rack along an axis perpendicular to the vertical mean planes, and independently of the other containers.
Preferably, the link rod mechanically connects the top portion of each arc of a back structure element to the top portion of the arc of the facing front structure element. This configuration makes it possible to ensure that bulging containers are not prevented from rotating. With a bulging container, the envelope defined by two facing hoops can intersect a bottom portion of the container, thereby defining an intersection surface, and the container would be prevented from rotating if a link rod were to be contained in said intersection surface or to intersect it.
In a particular embodiment, the rack further comprises bottom link members suitable for interconnecting two contiguous bottom modular structures, and top link members suitable for interconnecting two contiguous top modular structures, so that they are connected together respectively via their bottom portions and via their top portions. Since the first row of modular structures situated next to the ground does not have any lower modular structures to interconnect them, special bottom link members are provided. The same applies to the last or top-most row of the rack for which special top link members are likewise provided.
In yet another particular embodiment, the support means are constituted by shaft portions, each bottom end of an arc of said back and front structure elements including a shaft portion suitable for supporting a container in a fixed position.